Padfoot's promise
by Gcostello
Summary: Everybody thinks they know what happened that night. Sirus Black betrayed his best friend and the Dark Lord vanished. Delilah Malfoy knows the truth, and she isn't going to let the man she loves rot in a cell for a crime he didn't commit. AU. OC
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue **

The alarm went off with a shrill wail. A small sliver of light ran under the door, too much for her pounding head. She fumbled for the glass, the thick liquid placating the throbbing in her throat. Next, she grabbed the bottle of pills and lit a cigaret before stumbling out of bed. Her tank top showing off her malnourished body in the dull morning light.

Delilah Malfoy's morning routine was the only constant in her life. Each day she woke up, drank just enough to get out of bed, and spent the rest of her day watching muggle TV. Those familiar with the nobility of her family name may be shocked by how the sister of Lucius Malfoy spends her time. They'd be horrified by the dingy bedsit the Slytherin was currently living in. Those people had obviously forgotten Delilah's fall from grace, her betrayal of her own brother 13 years prior.

The clock struck 11 and she quickly ran to her room, throwing on a pair of black skinny jeans and a satin blouse. She cast a hair taming charm, her long white locks trailed down her back, and quickly applied dark eye makeup and red lipstick. Despite spending most of her time in solitude, the importance of appearance pushed on her by her pureblood mother was still something Delilah cared about. Today was one of the few occasions where she cared about making a good impression.

Leaving her flat in Notting Hill, she jumped on a bus and headed towards a seat at the back. The other passengers, whilst unaware of who she was, were aware of some strong power radiating from her. A small old lady physically convulsed when she met Delilah's eye, causing a smug smirk to cross her face.

At the next stop, Delilah got off and crossed the street, before entering an abandoned office block. Once inside she took the elevator to the top floor, checking her makeup in the elevator's reflective doors. Perfect.

The doors opened and made her way past the abandoned desks and outdated desktops to the executive's office, at least that's what the plaque on the door said.

Standing behind the mahogany desk was a man she hadn't seen in 13 years. His oily black hair hung like curtains around his pinched face. The long black dress robes seemed out of place in the dull office.

"I see you haven't changed". The man smirked at her greeting.

"I can hardly say the same about you. When was the last time you ate?"

"I'll take your concern as a complement Snape, you always had difficulty showing your affection." At this Snape frowned, and Delilah was aware that she'd crossed a line.

"And you were always a bitch, no wonder Black liked you so much".

"Quite. Anyway, you were the one who sent me a note asking to meet me here, no? Shouldn't you be being nice to me, as the host of this little…. Reunion?"

Snape had clearly become impatient by the niceties.

"You must have heard the news by now. Black's out."

She waited a minute before responding, a look shading her face that was a mix between anger and fear.

"I had nothing to do with it. I only wished I had"

"So you still believe he's innocent? You're still waiting?"

Again, she waited to answer. The air was stiff with tension.

"There is no way that Sirius would have betrayed James. Or Lily. There is no way he would have left me." A slight gleam lit up her eyes but quickly left when she noticed the satisfied glint in Snape's.

"Is that what you've been doing for all these years? Looking for evidence? I never did understand why you cared about him so much, why you gave up everything for him?"

Again, she waited, thinking about whether her old best friend deserved to know what had happened all those years ago.

"I think its time you know the truth. What really happened between Sirius and I. With my brother, with… Lily".

"What do you mean with Lily?" Snap's voice took on a begging tone.

"Lily Evans wasn't as innocent as she seemed. We were best friends seventh year, did you know that?"

"No, she hated Slytherins, I never saw you talk?"  
"You never saw me talk to Sirius either, you just thought he had a little crush on me."

"So what happened", Snape snapped, his infamous impatience shinning through.

"It all began on the Hogwarts express at the beginning of seventh year…"

**A/N**

**This is my first ever fanfiction, so if you have any notes for improvements then I'd be really happy to hear them!**

**The next chapter will be up later today, and I'm hoping to update pretty **reguarly** with the first couple of chapters!**

**I've had this idea in my head for a while now, and I can't wait to see where it goes!**

**Thank you**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

**1977**

Delilah Malfoy was what one might call the Queen B of Slytherin house. Being a member of one of the most prestigious pureblood families probably had a lot to do with that, but most of it was just because of who she was. Smart, beautiful, captain of the Quidditch team, and now head girl. Delilah was even liked by Mcgonagal. But don't think that doesn't mean she wasn't the most cunning and sly student at the school, her passion for pranks and mischief even gave the Marauders a run for their money! She was just smart enough not to be caught.

As she entered her the prefect's compartment of the Hogwarts express she wasn't shocked to see James Potter wearing a badge identical to her own. Whilst she thought he was immature and obnoxious, she had to admit that he was stupidly clever and well liked by all students. He was also Dumbledor's favourite. Her lack of surprise wasn't shared by the other prefects though, even Potter's best friend Remus seemed shocked at his mate being given such an honour.

"All right, I'm as shocked as the rest of you but you don't need to look at me like I've just grown a tail or something." James laughed out.

"Well, I'm glad that you're you've been made head boy James, you may be a Gryffindor but at least you're fun," Delilah smirked when she noted the look of shock on his face. She'd never really spoken to any of the Gryffindors, they were so judgmental of her own house but she couldn't really blame them for that. Some of the Slytherin's were really awful. But not hating the Gryffindors wasn't really part of house pride, so she always thought it safer to ignore them in case her lack of contempt was too obvious. The other students were clearly shocked that a Slytherin could have anything nice to say to a Gryffindor.

"Well, that's awfully nice of you to say Malfoy, maybe this year wont be so bad after all?" the smirk he gave her in return made some of the younger prefects giggle with affection. Remus gave her a funny look.

As they left the perfect meeting, she and James began to talk about their new living arrangments.

"I was wondering if you would mind if my friends came over, not all the time of course, but….." James was looking at her sheepishly, expecting her to be outraged at him asking her to allow their private common room to be overrun by Gryffindors.

She laughed, "Do you really think I'd mind? Just because I don't sit around gossiping and playing wizard chess with you, Sirius and Remus, doesn't mean I hate you all and want to hex you into tomorrow. Although, I wouldn't say those sentiments are shared by a lot of people in my house. Tell you're friends they can come by whenever they want". She began to walk away, "oh, and call me Delilah. That's what my friends call me".

Before she had a chance to leave, Sirius Black appeared from one of the train compartments. His shoulder length black hair was wavy and just shy of being messy, tucked behind his ears in a way Delilah found ridiculously sexy. How rude, she thought, to look that hot and not even kiss her. Well, we'll have to change that, Mr Black seems like a good way to spend the year, she laughed to herself.

"So you're stuck with a Malfoy then?" Black sneered at her, all thoughts of late-night meetings in broom cupboards wiped from her mind. Obnoxious prick.

"I am yes, and her names Delilah. She's allowing you to come over to OUR PRIVATE rooms whenever you want to, so I'd suggest you were a bit nicer". James whispered making Sirius blush slightly, "sorry" he muttered.

She laughed again, a sound that was surprisingly pretty coming from a Slytherin, Sirius thought.

"It's ok, you're not meant to like me, we're sworn enemies!" and with that, she walked away, feeling Sirius' watching her short skirt as she went.

"God, she's something else" Remus shook his head as he pushed past his two friends and made his way into their compartment.

"She really is" Sirius muttered to no-one.

Back in her own compartment, her friends began to ask her about her summer. She told them all about the social functions she'd gone to, the afternoon teas, the weddings. If she was being honest, none of it really interested her. It was all so formal! She'd had more fun sneaking out at night to go to the local muggle pub, and don't get her started on the festivals! Her parents would kill her of course, and her older brother, but they weren't ever going to find out!

"So how are Narcissa and your brother? I heard they're getting married in the new year?" Nancy Goyle, a pig-faced girl, asked.

"They seem happy. You'd have to ask Bella about the wedding though, you know my brother is clueless about that kind of thing", turning to the raven-haired girl next to her.

"Oh, its going to be the biggest wedding of the year, even the ministers coming, and I'm going to become sisters with my best friend!" the mocking tone in her voice was plainly evident, not to say the girl didn't care for Delilah, they were friends, its just that Bella was a bitch. Delilah found her slightly too crazy at times, but if she was in the mood, Black's insanity could make for a fun evening.

"And how about you, Delilah? Any wedding bells in your future?", Nancy asked in her annoyingly pitchy voice. God, I hate that girl, thought Delilah. In fact, she hated most of her 'friends'. She hated the way her friends were chosen based on who her parents saw fit, and she definitely hated that her parents would be choosing her husband. There was no way she was going to let that happen.

"Oh, mummy's probably picking me a groom as we speak, so I'm going to make the most of being single this year. You know how I hate to date." Her flippant tone indicated to the two other girls that she was bored of the conversation and they spent the rest of the journey in silence, Delilah thinking about a certain Black that she was going to have a lot of fun with this year.

The welcome feast was as boring as ever in Delilah's opinion. Every year Dumbledore went on and on about house unity, but everybody knew that even he hated the Slytherins. The old man is a fool, she thought.

The only interesting thing about the meal was the constant stares she knew she was getting from the Gryfindor table. The Marauders were talking about her, she could tell. Well, if they have so much to talk about after only one converstaion, I wonder what they'll do with something more exciting.

Her opportunity to have a little fun came after her and James had completed their head duties. After making sure the first year Slytherins were settled, she made her way to the head common room.

She hadn't known what to expect from her new living arrangments, but she was pleasantly surprised by the large open fireplace, plush sofa's and armchairs, and the small country kitchen nestled into an alcove in the corner. James hadn't come back from his duties yet, so she thought she'd start to get ready for bed. Travelling always made her feel dirty.

She found their shared bathroom on the second floor, between their two bedrooms. She quickly jumped into the shower, washing her hair with her favourite apple shampoo before quickly towel drying it. She let her damp hair run down her back, as she wrapped the towel around her body and walked out onto the landing. She could hear voices in the living room downstairs.

"Shut up Wormtail, she's not that bad", she could make out James' voice and started to walk down the stairs to hear who they were talking about.

"She might be a Slytherin, but she's fucking hot!" Sirius mumbled through a mouthful of crisps. God, they've just had a feast, how is that boy still hungry she thought!  
"Yeah, and she'd probably hex you if she heard you say that. She's not to be messed with, she may be nice and friendly, but she's still a Slytherin", Remus added, looking up from his book. First evening back and already working on homework, and here I thought the Marauders were meant to be fun, she laughed.

As much fun as it was to listen in on the boys talking about her, Delilah was getting bored. She made sure the towel was firmly in place before going down the stairs.

"Well boys, it's awfully nice to know what you think of me. Little narrow-minded though, didn't your mothers ever tell you not to judge a book by its cover", she threw a pointed look at Remus, who she'd figured out was a werewolf in their first year, as she perched on the arm of Sirius' chair.

"We… were… just", James stuttered whilst turning bright red as the others tried hard to look anywhere but her legs and chest.

"Look, if we're going to be spending this much time together, you're going to have to get over the fact that I'm a Malfoy", she said as she grabbed the copy of NME Sirius was reading.

"You're right, I'm sorry if we offended you, it's just, we're not used to you lot being nice to us!" James said, having now returned to a normal colour.

"Look, I get it. I think my friends are evil, malicious hags, but there's not much I can do about that. Not all of us can abandon the family name", this time she looked down at Sirius who was looking at her in shock.

"You mean to tell me, that little Miss Slytherin princess is thinking about leaving her family?" Sirius asked with genuine shock.

"I never said I wanted to leave, I can achieve more with them than without. I just don't agree with where their loyalties lie." She shrugged as she began reading an article about The Stranglers.

"That being…." James raised an eyebrow and smirked, his tone light.

"You know, just as I know all about a little order that your parents may or may not be members of." She raised her eyebrow in return.

"I think we should leave that conversation there, anyway I'm going to go to bed," Remus said as he made his way to leave, "it was very nice to properly meet you", he said to Delilah, blushing slightly at her partially naked form.

"I should go to", Wormtail said as he stumbled after Remus, trying hard not to look at her long golden legs- she wasn't a fan of the pale look her family was often known for.

James and Delilah looked at Sirius, who finally got the hint that it was probably time for him to go to.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't", he whispered to James as he jumped up from his chair.

After they'd all left an awkward silence began which Delilah swiftly ended by swatting James with the magazine.

"You and I are going to have great fun this year Prongs, just you wait", Delilah sang out as she made her way upstairs, leaving James to wonder just how she knew about his nickname, and what a Slytherin meant my 'fun'.

**A/N**

**I'm having such a fun time writing this story!**

**I'd really appreciate any reviews, even negative ones, as I'm new to this and I want to make sure that I do the characters justice!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

The next day James woke before Delilah, heading to the Gryffindor common room before she even began to think about waking up. An hour later, she began to stir. When she noticed the time, shit, only 30 minutes to lessons, she quickly ran to the bathroom, applying more makeup than her mother would think appropriate, and pushing her long hair back with a black satin headband. She quickly put on her uniform, her skirt coming up to her mid-thigh, and the top three buttons of her shirt undone, leaving very little to the imagination.

As she walked out of their room and into the great hall she felt the gaze of most of the male population of Hogwarts staring at her long elegant legs and the slight wiggle in her hips that she'd had since she was 7. She knew how to work a room. The only gaze she was really interested in was Sirius', having now decided that the black sheep of the Black family was going to be her target this year.

She smirked to herself. Over the years she'd managed to secretly create a reputation for herself. It wasn't public knowledge, no one would dare talk badly about her out of fear of her or Lucius, but Delilah wasn't a stranger to the human anatomy. She was just smart enough not to be caught 'meeting' up in an empty classroom. The same couldn't be said for Sirius, who everybody knew was a player. He'd hooked up with half the female population of Hogwarts, and Delilah was starting to get offended that he'd overlooked her. He's probably turned off by the Malfoy thing, he hates anything to do with purebloods.

"How was your first night with the bloodtraitor? I'd have slit his throat in his sleep", Bella cackled, bringing her back to reality.

"And Dumbledore would have loved that. I am trying to make it to graduation, I don't know about you?" God, the girl was so set on maiming anyone who she didn't agree with she couldn't see the bigger picture. "Anyway, I've got go, it's time for transfigurations".

As Delilah entered the classroom she noticed that there was only one free seat, next to Lily Evans. The redhead was a complete swot, but she always seemed one of the friendlier Gryffindors. Delilah was still angry with snape for treating her so badly, that boy was clearly in love with the girl and now he was moping around because he'd acted like a dick. Why he didn't apologize, Delilah didn't know, but she figured being nice to Lily might help get her friend back in her good books.

"Hi, I hope you don't mind but there's no more seats?" Delilah said, putting on her sweetest smile. Lily looked unsure.

"I don't bite, ask James. He spent a whole night with me and seems to be ok!"

At this Lily laughed, and the pretty redhead moved her books out of the way to make space for the blonde.

"You have more self control than me then, I'd have hexed him if I had to spend that much time with him!" Lily scrunched her nose as she thought of James. At first Delilah was confused by her hostility, then she remembered James' pitiful attempts to ask the girl out.

"He is a bit of a prick isn't he?" Lily and her laughed, making a couple of people look around at the two girls in confusion.

"Mate, what the hell could those two be laughing about? Lily hates Slytherins." James whispered to Sirius, the two of them sitting two rows behind the girls.

"God knows, but I want to find out more about Malfoy. I don't get why she's acting so nice to us, I wonder what she's up to", Sirius whispered back.

"You just want to get into her pants, not that I can blame you. Fuck, last night was hard man, did you see how short that towel was." James blushing slightly at the memory.

"Mate, she was practically sitting on me, I noticed how short the towel was. If only she wasn't a bloody Malfoy".

"By the sounds of things she's not really into the whole 'Malfoy' thing", James muttered back.

"She's dangerous, I can feel it. Anyway, I've already found a new friend. We're meeting later to go over some extra charms work." Sirius winked at James, wagelling his eyebrows.

"As long as you don't get caught again, Mcgonagall still blushes every time she looks at you!"

"You know she loved it!" Their cackles ran through the silent classroom.

"Black, Potter, when you're ready to stop acting like 5 year olds, the rest of the class is ready to learn?" Mcgonagall's eyes twinkled as she told the two off, she was never able to be angry with the two of them, no matter how annoying they were.

"Ready when you are Minnie", Sirius said, blowing her a kiss.

As soon as she exited the class Bella came running up to her.

"I can't believe you sat next to that mudblood bitch and didn't curse her every time she breathed. God, she's so self-righteous!" The brunette was practically seething with her empathy for the 'hell' Delilah had just lived through.

"Don't be so melodramatic, she's the top of every class, being her friend is going to mean I can pass the year with very little effort on my part." Delilah knew that little lie would placate her friend, purebloods were so narrow-minded with their hatred.

"Anyway, talking of classes, I have to go to charms," Delilah said as she gave Bella a quick kiss on the cheek before heading to her next period.

As she rounded the corner however she came face to face with Sirius and his new 'friend', who he had pushed up against the wall.

"You might want to find an empty classroom Black, even for you, this is a little public", Delilah laughed at the slightly embarrassed look that crossed Sirius'' face, he wasn't normally one to care about being caught. In fact, the public destination of his current romp suggested he still didn't care. Maybe it was who had caught him that had him so flustered.

"You're just jealous that it's not you Malfoy, purebloods are awfully strict about the whole no sex before marriage thing," Sirius quickly recovered.

"Most are, but I've never been one to follow the crowd," Delilah winked before walking on, noting his raised eyebrows and obvious shock. Clearly, her extra curricular activities had indeed been kept on the downlow, more than she would have thought. No wonder Lucius hasn't had me hung, drawn and quartered, she thought.

The rest of the day dragged on, charms was as boring as ever, potions was still the Slughorn show, and her free period had been spent on the huge pile of homework she'd received. First day back and she was already struggling. Although, Delilah's definition of struggling was probably out of sync with the rest of Hogwarts. Whilst Lily may be top of the class in most subjects, in potions, charms and DADA, it was Delilah who held the title. For the last six years, the two girls had taken it in turns to hold the title of best in year, whilst Remus always came an admiral 3rd. What a shame Delilah was destined to be a pureblood housewife, nothing more than a trophy for a man she didn't love. Well, we'll see about that.

Delilah muttered her dorm's password to the portrait, one containing the particularly handsome Duke Byron, and slumped into the nearest armchair, failing to notice the other inhabitants of the room.

"Somebody's had a rough day I take it", Delilah looked up to see a smiling James finishing of the potions essay they'd just been set.

"Same old, same old. I'd just forgotten how long the day was, I already want to be back on holiday!" Delilah got up and head over to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, taking the orders of the rest of the marauders who were slouched over various pieces of furniture.

"And what does a Malfoy get up to over the summer? Maiming? Muggle hunting? Maybe you joined in with one of the numerous death eater raids?" Sirius drawled without even looking over to her.

Delilah stopped for a moment, outraged that he had the audacity to even suggest her involvement in the death eaters. But then she realised, why wouldn't he think she shared the same sympathies than her family. Yes, they may have briefly talked about it last night, but she was a Slytherin, hardly trusting from his point of view, or anyone's really. His judgement of her, as scathing as it was, was based on the years he'd spent living with the Blacks, and she couldn't blame him for casting her with them. She was a Malfoy after all, their relatives were getting married. Malfoys and Blacks were one in the same, it was the two of them who were the anomalies. He just didn't know that yet.

Remus and James shot stern looks at Sirius, knowing he'd crossed a line. Peter was blissfully unaware of the tension in the room, whilst Sirius seemed bothered by how hurtful his accusation truly was.

"I spent most of my summer working in my local pub, serving those muggles who you're suggesting I'd like to maim, and trying to avoid my stifling mother and her constant attempts to marry me of." At this point Delilah turned to face the boys, noticing them stiffen in slight fear at the murderous look on her face.

"I know what you all think of me. Remus is cynical and untrusting of me, and suitably embarrassed by that fact. James is just confused by my sudden change of heart. Peter is completely unaware of any change in my character but hates me because somebody told him he should." She took a deep breath, regaining control over her voice in order to stop shouting.

"And Sirius, you think you know exactly who I am. Another pureblood soon to be housewife, who's only plan is to marry a rich politician, pump out a couple of offspring to carry on the prejudice traditions we hold so close to our hearts, and who will stand by, smiling, as her husband takes the mark and tries his hardest to kill everyone in this room." Her voice hit a slightly shrill note as she tried to stop her body from shaking. Nobody in the room said anything, even Sirius was rendered speechless.

Delilah felt tears come to her eyes and she fought them back as she smiled at the four gryffindors, "I don't want that. My whole family, god my whole house, thinks muggles are awful. That even muggle-borns are below us, that they deserve to die for even daring to enter our world. But I'm friends with muggles, I like them. They're no different from us, they aren't even aware we exist, and yet, there's this big bad who is slowly picking them of and our world is still being divided based on stupid school rivalries."

James had regained the ability to speak, and calmly said, "But the Slytherins are the ones who are doing this. You can't deny that at the end of this year, some of your housemates will take the mark. That they will join the Dark Lord."

Delilah smiled at him, aware that he was trying to be polite despite how tense the conversation had become. She quietly said, "we're treated as if we're evil. Some are, but if you put somebody into a box and label them its very hard to get out. I'm not taking away the responsibility of the individual, I just think that we need to work together."

"You say that as if you're going to do something. Are you seriously saying you'd leave your family? You, a Malfoy", whilst Sirius' tone remained light, it was less polite than James' had been.

"Like I said last night, I can do and achieve more with them, but when the time comes my loyalties will become public". Delilah had a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"So you're going to do what, spy?" Sirius countered, still shocked at her frankness.

"I'm trusted enough. I know who's taking the mark, I know enough from my brother to be useful. I'm not proud to be a Malfoy, I've just never had the opportunity before now to talk to anybody. It's not like I could have gone up to you in third year and said, hey, I hate my family too and I love muggles!" She laughed, the sound muffled by the tears that still threatened. She was angry that she was even thinking of crying.

"You're serious about joining the light? I thought you were just being nice so you could use us later?" Remus asked, looking at her with a slight awe.

"Remus, I've known since first year that you were a werewolf. Since third, I've known that the rest of you are unregistered animagus. I've never told anybody, nor do I care, not so that I can use it as blackmail as Sirius probably thinks, but because I have nothing to gain from screwing you over. I knew even then that the Dark lord was going to try to gain power, and that you four would grow up to be part of the resistance against him. I know you probably haven't thought about it, but deep down you know there's no doubt that you're all going to join the order."

"And you want in?" James said after a few minutes, the shock of her knowledge sinking in slowly.

"I don't want to be married of next year. I'm already going to be upsetting my family, I might as well do some good and really get blacklisted." She laughed as James and Remus smiled at her.

"So does this make us friends then?" James asked, looking around the room at the other boys. Remus seemed shocked but quite touched that she honestly didn't care about his 'furry little problem', whilst Peter was looking to the others, clearly happy to follow their lead. Sirius she couldn't read, he took a deep breath, and said, "I think it does, welcome to the gang Delilah". He gave her his infamous smile, and she felt like her heart had stopped beating. God, he was so hot!  
Delilah smilled a similarly dazzlingly smile, and looked around at the four of them.

"I'm also an unregistered animagus by the way, a puma", she laughed at their reaction.

"Well, Mooney will be happy to have a new friend" Remus retorted, all of them laughing in shock at their new alliance, sipping on the cups of tea Delilah had finally bought over.

A/N

Thank you so much for the support so far. Sorry for not updating sooner, I have a lot of school work at the moment, but it should be getting easier soon!

I'd really appreciate any reviews, I'm still really new at this, so if you have any feedback, negative and positive, I'd love to hear it!


	4. Chapter 4

The following week passed quickly as Delilah's promised friendship with the Marauders blossomed. Whilst Peter reminded her too much of some of the more pathetic lackeys in her own house, she found that she genuinely liked the other three boys. Whilst she hadn't been lying about using the four of them, she hadn't expected to feel such loyalty so quickly. The speed at which she began to trust and like the boys scared her, especially after a lifetime of concealing her true feelings and dealing in half-truths. The brutal honesty of them, the way they showed their true emotions on their faces, the way they shared how they were feeling with each other, it never would have happened in Slytherin.

Every time she left the warm comfort of the heads common room to face her 'friends', it became harder and harder to not hate them for their loyalties and prejudice. Before, Bella's hexing of younger years and cackling laugh had been maddening, but she bared it with a tight smile and a promise to herself that she would revenge those Bella hurt herself. Now, after spending so much time with four people who cared for each other more than themselves, Delilah was finding it harder and harder to play the role of Queen of Slytherin. Her cold exterior was worn with contempt, and she found her fingers gripping her wand, a hex on the tip of her tongue, too many times to be safe, to keep her cover.

That was how she found herself in the middle of a brawl at five on the first Friday of the term. The Slytherin quidditch tryouts were going shockingly badly. Thank Merlin we have a decent team and only need to fill one place, she thought, these boneheads can barely find the right end of their broom.

As her older teammates took delight in throwing bludgers at those trying out, far too hard for her liking, she looked down at the list of hopefuls. It read like the invite list for one of her mother's soirees. Being Slytherin quidditch captain was less about picking talent, and more about picking whose father would donate the most to the team, and hopefully put her in their good graces come graduation. The name Greenhouse stood out to her, a mean shrew face, with a Ceaser nose and hawk eyes came to mind, and she knew lord Greenhouse would be most pleased with his youngest son making the team. Delilah sighed, she was beginning to hate this game she was playing, and it had only just begun.

At the sound of jeering from the stands, her head whipped up. Seeing James and the rest of the Gryffindor team taunting her own, she smiled to herself and walked over.

"I would hope that you felt you stood a chance in the cup this year without having to rely on stalking your competition? Giving up before it's even begun, how brave", she drawled, the twinkle in her eyes meeting James' playful grin. To outsiders, this looked like war, but for James and Delilah, this was all fun.

"Don't worry Malfoy, we could beat you with no training this year, after all, nobody on our team bought their way on. We were just passing". At his comment, the Slytherins started hurling their own insults as Delilah stood rolling her eyes at the pathetic jabs her team was coming up with. As Nott, one of her chasers, spat out a nasty little phrase ending in Mudblood, James' had finally had enough.

"How dare you, just because somebody wasn't brought up in an inbred, callous, hateful household like yours, doesn't mean they are any less deserving of their magic" James spat at Nott, three of the muggleborns on his team flashing red in embarrassment.

"You're just as bad, you blood traitor, Potters can hardly be considered purebloods anyway, not with the company they keep. Still pining over that mudblood slut Potter?" Nott laughed cruelly, the other Slytherins bar Delilah joining in.

James lunged for the boy, landing a right hook to his jaw, sending him sprawling on the ground. As soon as James had him pinned down, Crabbe sent a hex at him, forcing him of Nott as he clutched his side in pain. At this, Sirius, previously quiet in the stands with the rest of his team, grabbed his wand to defend his friend. Delilah watched as the two teams broke out into a brawl, paying the most attention to Sirius, whose long locks were quickly matted to his face with blood, she wasn't sure whose. God, he is unbelievably hot! She shook her head in disgust at being turned on by the fighting before her, but it didn't stop her from carrying on watching.

Just as her hand began to ache from the wandless shield spell she was using to protect her new friends, Professor McGonagall ran onto the pitch.

Her shrill voice ran out towards them, "What is the meaning of this?"

"I'm sorry professor, but they wouldn't stop going on about Mudbloods, and then they started hexing James without warning….." one of the Gryffindor players, she wasn't sure his name, started before the professor interrupted.

"I don't care what you're justifications were, fighting is not the correct way to deal with your disagreements. 5 house points from each of you, and if I hear of anything like this happening again, you will be banned from Quidditch and serving detention with me until the end of the year." Her harsh glare was turned on all of them, a look of slight shook as it fell upon Delilah, the only one of the group to not have participated in the fight.

"At least one of you has any sense, Miss Malfoy. You can take Mr Potter and Mr Black to the hospital wing on the way back to the heads common room, I trust you will see they don't get into any more trouble on route?" the older women asked.

"I'm sure I'll manage", Delilah smiled as she led the two boys off, both covered in blood and hobbling from the strain of their injuries.

Once back in their common room, Delilah helped the boys get comfortable, elevating their legs on summoned cushions to bring down the swelling on twisted ankles, and getting ice for the black eyes both were sporting. As she was brewing the kettle in the kitchen, she heard Peter and Remus enter the room, their shocked voices at their friends state making her feel sorry for herself that she had so few people who really cared for her like that. As a tear threatened to roll down her cheek, she laughed at her own patheticness, rolled back her shoulders, and marched into the living room.

After cheerfully greeting the two newcomers, she sat down next to Sirius and started applying the bruise cream Poppy had given her, the matron allowing her to use her name after years of brewing her healing potions.

"Before you ask Remus, the other guys look worse", James grinned, before wincing as the movement hurt more than he expected.

"I don't know about that, you two were the only ones sent to the hospital wing", Delilah smiled lightheartedly at the groaning pair, their injuries worse than she'd expected, but nothing too serious, her shield spell had been quite excellent after all.

"Yeah, well, we couldn't just stand there whilst your death eater chums ran their mouths, could we?" Sirius mumbled grumpily from beside her. Delilah leaned over and began using a wet cloth to wipe the dried blood from his face. After a moment she realised how intimate the gesture was, his moody grey eyes boring into her own, her body becoming weightless under their scrutiny.

Remus cleared his throat, and the pair jumped away from each other, a deep blush appearing on Delilah's cheeks. Sirius smirked, so the ice queen can feel after all?

"Well, it looks like the two of you have a competent nurse. We actually came to tell you that Professor Dumbledore has asked all of us up to his study after breakfast tomorrow", Remus said as he flopped into one of the vacant armchairs.

Delilah looked up with a slightly shocked look on her face, "all of us?"

"I got a letter at the end of dinner, Dumbledore's more observant than we thought," Remus replied.

"What do you think it will be about, he wouldn't ask for all of us if it was about your fight?" Peter asked nervously as he began to wring his hands. Delilah struggled to keep the look of disgust of her face, there was something seemingly unpleasant about the fourth Marauder, and she made a note to figure out what it was.

"Maybe he's heard about mine and James' badass guitar skills and wants us to form the first Hogwart's rock band?" Sirius added with his signature smirk.

"That sounds about right, I'll be vocals, Remus can play drums and Peter… well, maybe the triangle?" The others laughed at Delilah's mocking tone, but Peter saw the cold, hard look in her eyes, and let out a high pitched squeak.

"Oh, don't let her get to you Pete, she's still a slimy Slytherin", Sirius barked with a laugh.

"Well, if I'm a slimy Slytherin, maybe I shouldn't be helping clean you up, brave Gryffindor?" Delilah replied with her own smirk.

The quick banter went on through the following hours until Remus noted that it was past curfew and the injured boys should probably rest up before their meeting with the headmaster the following morning. Slowly the group broke off, James stumbling up the stairs due to fatigue, and the other two boys sneaking of with the promise of Sirius following them after a final application of bruise cream.

As Delilah applied the cream to the boy's shoulder, Sirius grabbed her hand, the light of the fireplace behind them throwing warm shadows over his battered face.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked without a drip of sarcasm, scepticism or malice. His eyes seemed to bore into her sole, and she knew he wasn't asking about changing sides.

"Why are you letting me?" Her voice was soft, she feared she may never speak again as all the breath in her body threatened to leave her.

He took a deep breath, seemingly trying to decide if he was ready to let her in. They had only really known her for a week, and she was a Malfoy. Yet, there was something about her. The way she fit in with them, the way she held herself, the way she looked at him and he could see past the cold, ice queen exterior. He made up his mind.

"No one's ever fully gotten me before. James tries, he thinks he understands what it was like to grow up as a Black, but he doesn't get how it still hurts to be disowned despite wanting nothing to do with the whole blasted lot of them. Remus gets it a bit more than James, he's an expert on self-hatred after all. But none of them really get how ingrained it all is, how I'm still proud to be a Black despite it all, and how I hate myself for having left it all behind. But I hate them more." A single tear rolled down his cheek as he admitted his darkest secret to a girl that only a week prior was his enemy.

Delilah stared at him for a moment, her own internal battle raging. Should she fully trust him? She knew if she did that this flirty, fun stage of their relationship would be over. She knew she didn't know how, but she knew that there was something between them. Just as she knew telling the truth in this moment would change the two of them forever. Merlin, how overdramatic, it's like a bad muggle soap, she thought to herself.

Making up her mind, she said, "I think you may be the strongest person I know to still feel honour for a legacy that has been corrupted by hate. I fear that the hate I feel for them, for their associates, their balls, their beliefs, I fear it will eat me up until I'm no better than them. I envy you that you're strong enough to fight that hate." At no point did the pair break eye contact, time seemed to be suspended as the two bore their souls to each other and themselves, speaking a truth they had feared to admit they possessed.

"We don't have to let our names control us, we can be whoever we choose to be. And I choose to fight for the light." Sirius waited for her to respond, fearing that despite what she had said to the other boys, that her Slytherin self-preservation was her true motive. He needed her. He needed her to believe in doing what was right because it was right, not because it offered her protection.

"I choose to fight for the light because hatred isn't a way to live or a way to lead a society." Her breath caught in her throat as the words tingled in the air. A warm wind wrapped around them, their blood heated and their words burned in each other's hearts.

"What was that?" Sirius asked, the magic visibly pulsing in the air.

"An honour contract. Our magic knew we spoke a deep truth, one we are now bound to. It's an old ancient magic, it will offer us both protection as we seek to fulfil our truths. There hasn't been one reported in over 100 years." She decided to emit the part where only soulmates could be bound by an honour contract, she wasn't much of a believer in fate after all, despite her pureblood upbringing. No point scaring the boy.

"Thank Merlin we're bound to the right choice then", his smirk returned and Delilah let out a light laugh. The magic still pulsed in the room, but the intensity of the mood had lifted and she realised that she had run out of bruise cream.

"I think you're all patched up brave Gryffindor."

"You don't have to say that as if it's such an insult."

"Oh, but it is. Brawn before brains does not a hero make."

Sirius laughed as he gathered his things. Delilah followed suit, gathering up the various healing potions and creams they'd brought down from the hospital wing as Sirius made for the door.

Before opening it he seemed to change his mind, turned and caught her arm, spinning her towards him until they were so close she could feel the beating of his heart. She looked up at him through her long eyelashes, waiting. Slowly, he leaned down and gave her a tender kiss. Despite its reserved nature, the warmth of his lips burnt through every nerve in her body, their gentle pressure more passionate than any heavy make-out session in a broom closet. He pulled away too soon and smiled. She was shocked at how genuine he looked, no smirk, no joking, just an honest smile.

"Goodnight Delilah".

"Goodnight Sirius".

A/N

I haven't updated this story in such a long time, but I just had such bad writer's block and no time to think it through!  
I have the next couple of chapters fully planned out, and I'm really excited about it, so please stay with me.

Please review and let me know what you think, it really would really help to motivate me! Wink. Wink.

The next chapter will be up in the next couple of days.


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